This might be a little awkward (tag Chris) on Quidditch Pitch

Selina Skies

May 06, 2023 10:23 PM

The Bonfire - Make a Wish by Selina Skies

Right now, it was Selina’s job to celebrate the end of term. And that was what she was doing. The incident with Xavier was as resolved as it could be, in that he had been sent away for further treatment, and the steps that had led to this happening had been investigated. It was never easy when something went badly wrong. In some ways, it became all consuming—for several days, dealing with the fallout of the incident had been Selina’s number one priority, and normal responsibilities and previous carefully scheduled plans had had to be roughly shoved aside to make room for talking to parents, investigating the incident, arranging counseling sessions… But at the same time, life didn’t stop. The rest of the world did not grind to a halt because of one person’s emergency. Being deputy head was always like keeping a series of plates spinning, and even this didn’t mean the rest got put away or could be allowed to crash down. There were exam procedures to run (with a tiny, overlapping hitch of removing one of the candidates from the roster), there was the bonfire to arrange. Selina’s heart hurt, but those feelings had to be packed away in the interests of keeping everything moving. Rather than having an acute attack of tears or sorrow, she carried it like a chronic weight throughout the week—the deep, dragging and ever present sensation of something being very wrong. The feeling spiked whenever her mind circled back around and actively thought about the situation, but then she put it away again.

It was both on her mind and distant from it as she prepared to welcome students to the bonfire. This was about everyone. It was a celebration. It needed her attention. But the ritual she’d been trying to work out had only just crystalised in the last few days, and she couldn’t say how connected it was to recent events.

“Good evening,” she greeted the assembled students. “Welcome to the end of term bonfire. As usual, we will have food available, including items you can cook over the small fires around the edge. We will be reserving the large fire in the middle for setting positive intentions.” Selina indicated the large bonfire in the middle. Around it, at a distance, sat smaller ones to make cooking easier, and so as to not muddle the purpose of the main fire—if fire was power and purity, then shoving a baked potato or a marshmallow into it wasn’t really appropriate. “Whilst fire can be destructive, and can be used to burn away things you want rid of, in many cultures, fire is seen as offering power. The idea of burning a wish in fire is said to transport the idea out of this realm, and lend it strength. Tonight, you are encouraged to make a wish on behalf of a classmate.” This was the part that had come to her in the last few days. The idea of setting a positive intention using the fire had been knocking around her mind for a long time, but teenagers often wished for selfish or unrealistic things for themselves—wishing someone would date you didn’t respect their free will, and wishing that you could get the best grades in the class couldn’t work if everyone wanted it. Not that the wishes would really have the power to make those things happen, but it didn’t feel like a positive act when Selina had so many concerns about what might be wished for. Hopefully, by transferring the focus to other people, they would give it more careful thought. It also carried a message of caring and community, which felt like a stronger message to send. “This ritual is optional. You may choose not to participate, or to offer wishes for multiple people. Other than that, you are free to enjoy the fire, socialise with friends, and enjoy the snacks.

“As a reminder, it’s a minimum of three per tent and no maximum. Please register your group with an adult by eight pm so we know that everyone is accounted for and can start assigning tents.

“Enjoy your evening.”

Subthreads:

I wish I'd been a better sister by Robyn Lundstrom with Patience Reed-Fischer

A Brief Moment in Paradise by Reighleigh Mae Thorn

Thinking of others by Lazarus Jareau-Fletcher with Leviosa Scurlock

The first year Aladrens and me? by Alexander Pierce with Quillan Arcadius, Desmond Brockert, Nicholas Pierce

We are doing what now? by Nausicaa Scapetello

This might be a little awkward (tag Chris) by Lenny Pierce with Christopher Brockert

Food! by Samara Crosby with Misty Brockert

We need to talk. [tag: Val] by Bonabelle Row with Valentine Duell

Here at the end of all things (Phillipe) by Jasper Brockert with Philippe Delachene

Back where it all began (tag Quincy) by Bertie Jackson

This is so much fun! (Yarielis) by Piper Wilson with Yaniel Ayala Velez

I wish everyone would go away by Olaf Brockert with Phil Carson

A quiet realisation by Yaniel Ayala Velez

This is nice. by Ida Stanford

Happiness for some, I guess by Iris Cobb

Just lingering by the fire by Lyla Holland with Gwendolyn Brockert

An important wish by Ian Malone

Gaming was good by Bertie Jackson with Philippe Delachene, Valentine Duell

13 Selina Skies The Bonfire - Make a Wish 26 1 5

Robyn Lundstrom

May 06, 2023 11:17 PM

I wish I'd been a better sister by Robyn Lundstrom

Why was she here?

Robyn could identify the thought processes that had gone into that decision. She had been offered the chance to go home when Xavier had. And the anger and unfairness of it all had come crashing over her like a wave so that her answer had been no. No, she wasn’t missing the end of term and time with her friends because he had made a stupid decision. Because of an accident.

Now she was standing on the pitch, feeling like a selfish brat because had she really prioritised roasting marshmallows over a family crisis?

She couldn’t stop worrying. Medically, Xavier was fine. He didn’t seem to have done a lot of long term damage to himself but that was only the first step in dealing with the problem. He wasn’t going to be at home when she got back. He was going to be in treatment. Even if Robyn had been there, it wasn’t like anyone would have asked her. It would have been a lot of sitting around being shut out of conversations. But she would have at least been able to see him, and talk to him, and give him hugs. She’d be able to do that during visiting hours, she supposed. She should have done more of that when he was at school. She remembered the Quidditch match, where he’d sat digging his fingers into the bench. It had been obvious he wasn’t okay, and all she’d cared about was the fact that he was acting weird in front of her friends.

She was a terrible sister, and a terrible Teppenpaw.

Everyone knew most of those things too. Everyone knew something had happened, and Xavier had left early but that she was still here. She had heard the phrase ‘medical leave’ which she suspected was the official line being put out by the staff, and she had heard rumours that twisted the truth. She didn’t know whether to correct them or keep out of it.

When Professor Skies told them to make wishes for other people, it was easy to know what she wanted to say. She took a little slip of paper and wrote ’I wish for Xavier to be okay.’

She folded it up and threw it into the big fire, watching as the flames grabbed it, crumbling and erasing her words. Whatever Professor Skies said about fire being powerful, it still felt like it was drowning out her wish, snuffing it out with a ’ha!’ Robyn stood staring into the flames, letting them be the reason why her eyes were smarting.

13 Robyn Lundstrom I wish I'd been a better sister 1558 0 5

Reighleigh Mae Thorn

May 07, 2023 10:12 PM

A Brief Moment in Paradise by Reighleigh Mae Thorn
Co-written With: Billy Cobb

OOC: CW: Implied implications of possibly implied physical intimacy. BIC:

Enhanced senses working hard told Billy that the coast was clear. His ears and nose were particularly suited now for the task. His nose was also well suited to find his quarry. Her smell drifted through the air and was practically intoxicating. The wolf burst from the tent and cleared the gathering unseen.

This would be the last time Billy would get to see Ray until the summer was over. They had decided to set apart some of the time during the evening to say farewell to one another. Just your standard get away alone time for some snugglin', smoochin' and whatever. They hadn't actually had a lot of time doing such things previously. As such, he was rather looking forward to tonight.

The plan of theirs was a masterwork. Get food, eat it, then sneak off. Eating together was a must, anything else might have looked suspicious. Then they'd part ways, maybe find other folks to chat with a bit, then break away from the party.

Billy went back to his tent, smartly chosen on the periphery for easy escape. No one had been there and he had made his change to carry out their plan.

The plan tonight involved Billy in his wolf form, using his wolf nose to find her and get them where they planned to enjoy a picnic, stargaze, and make out. At first, Ray hadn't thought too much of that, but she did make sure to shower extra well when she knew Billy was gonna be wolfing around. For a minute there, she'd actually thought she'd be on her period the night of the bonfire. It would have been inconvenient and uncomfortable under normal circumstances - leaving her tent to run to the bathroom periodically was already bad, making out through cramps was worse - but when he'd sprung the idea of using his wolf form to find her, it was a terrifying prospect. The idea was that she could wander off wherever she found an opening and he would be able to track her down anyway, solving any need for them to blunder through the dark to find each other once they snuck away. She did not like the idea of Billy tracking her down by the smell of her period. Not that this was a normal teenage dynamic but she thought that if it was, it would be a pretty normal fear. She wasn't gonna ask around. Luckily, it had come a little early. Now, two weeks later, she was safely between cycles and ready to enjoy the evening, inconvenience and embarrassment free.

An important part of the plan involved eating and socializing, which Ray took to mean she should be stashing extra food in her bag throughout the evening as well. She had given Billy a peck before they parted and she was proud of herself for having smuggled enough for a nearly proper picnic by the time they'd meet up next. Not that it would be a surprise to him… stinkin' wolf sniffer.

She used her stolen goods as a cover for her escape too, making a show of glancing around and not finding Billy before taking a donut out of her bag and seemingly meandering away to look at the stars, pointedly in a different direction than Billy's tent, although she veered that direction as she got further from prying eyes. She even passed a few other students on her way away from social spaces, so she was confident that this wasn't strictly forbidden. Yet.

If there was a rule against gay kids sitting in bed together, there was probably a rule against sneaking off to make out with your boyfriend in the dark.

Not that that's all she intended; as much as she'd ruled herself out as a romantic, she'd found that perhaps she could enjoy the soft moments too. It was nice just sitting together, talking quietly, and letting the moments carry them away.

Billy's nose led him back to his target and confirmed that there wasn't anyone else around. He found the spot they'd decided to use yesterday and made sure no one else had had the same idea and taken it first. It was still clear. So now it was stealth mode time. He slunk low to the ground as quietly as he could. Only once he was close enough, did he rise next to her, brush against her legs and duck his head so her free hand drifted through the fur there and down his neck and back. That felt really nice. And from the smell of things she had loaded up on some goodies.

Ray jumped, barely stifling a scream. It came out as a yelp of the girly sort and she was none too proud of that, but it was hard to get used to dating an animal! Her brain didn't go to boyfriend when she felt unexpected animal body, it went to headlines of the gothy kid at Sonora who got eaten by a wolf at the bonfire.

She gave a full body shiver. "I don't know if that will ever not freak me out," she told him.

Billy had found that chuckling as a wolf was weird, but he did it anyway. Ray was cute and awesome. His tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth as he smiled at her. He winked at her and led the way off to their secluded hide-away. The urge to change back and wrap his arms around her was almost overwhelming, but he needed his nose and ears yet. Just to make sure all was still well. It was, and once they reached it he quickly shifted back to himself. "Hi!" He grinned at her, "Nice night. The stars are almost as pretty as you."

It was disconcerting to walk around in the dark alone except for a literal wolf, but Ray shoved the feelings down for the sake of making this work. It was worth it. She held his tail for guidance in areas where the moonlight wasn't enough for her to see where she's going and grinned back at him when he changed and had his picture perfect Billy expression on.

"Good boy," she smirked. "You're not bad yourself." She pulled her bag off her back and opened it to show off her haul, glad they'd planned to meet somewhere clear enough that she could indeed see by the moonlight. Still, she retrieved her wand and added a glowing orb of light above them to help them get settled until they were ready to stargaze. "Hungry?"

Ray knew the answer to that question, she had to. "Always." He responded. Man, he had won the jackpot with Ray. The way the light cascaded around her made her look divine, he couldn't wait any longer. Billy pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her and brought his face nearly nose-to-nose with hers. "But, at the moment, not for food." His normal grin was gone, something more earnest was in its place, filled with a longing hunger.

Movies had been a big part of Ray's introduction to romance etiquette but movies weren't very much like real life. A tingle of adrenaline shot down Ray's spine when Billy looked at her like that. There was a certain default nervousness she'd picked up spending so much time on the streets of Denver but that wasn't to say she was necessarily afraid of Billy, just cautious. But caution wasn't her M.O. so she pushed it aside in favor of enthusiasm, the other side effect of adrenaline, particularly for a very kissy, grabby, hungry teenager.

She leaned in as if to kiss him but dodged last minute, planting a series of suckling kisses along his neck instead before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and kissing him firmly on the mouth.

"Finite," she said breathlessly, putting out the light. They didn't need it.

22 Reighleigh Mae Thorn A Brief Moment in Paradise 1525 0 6 Billy Cobb

Lazarus Jareau-Fletcher

May 08, 2023 8:42 PM

Thinking of others by Lazarus Jareau-Fletcher

Lazarus had made it through another year. That was sure swell. He had promised his mother he would try a little more to be social this year, and while he did try a little more… he didn’t really try a whole lot. The penalty of this, he was slowly beginning to realize, meant he would have to return at the end of this and face two choices when she inevitably asked about his new friends. The first option would be to be honest and face her disappointment. The second would be to lie, and to lie creatively. The fortunate part was that his tone would not give him away as it would another other Sonora student who actually communicated verbally, but still, lying to one’s mother almost never ended well.

Still, he was fifteen years old, and that meant making mature, responsible decisions… such as procrastinating dealing with stuff that sucked, so for now, Lazlo decided to do what he could to just ignore the upcoming maternal storm on the horizon and enjoy the bonfire. Of course, that in and of itself was laughable, because who could enjoy a school event alone? The Aladren had gotten this far in life by staying on his own, and he really did understand Mom’s impulse to make him befriend someone. Even a misanthrope like him could only run so far from his own feelings: honestly, he was lonely.

He looked around for someone, anyone, he thought he could approach, and across the way, he spied a girl. Robyn Lundstrom was a school year below him (so two years younger in age). There was some major to-do recently involving her brother, Xavier, and Lazlo couldn’t help but notice a sadness within her. As he found himself approaching her, it crossed his mind briefly that she had to be about the same age that Icarus would have been now, if his little brother were still here.

However, as he started to get close, he panicked and bailed out in a different direction. Still, as he stood by the fire, he couldn’t help but think about her. On his own piece of parchment, he scribbled, I wish for whatever Robyn said, and tossed it into the flame. He had a feeling he knew what she would be thinking about right now.

12 Lazarus Jareau-Fletcher Thinking of others 1548 0 5

Alexander Pierce

May 08, 2023 9:08 PM

The first year Aladrens and me? by Alexander Pierce

Alexander arrived at the bonfire, with a pretty solid plan for who he wanted to tent with. Nicholas was an obvious choice that hardly bore mentioning, and the only reason he did think it specifically was because they hadn't been sharing a room for most of this year. He was mostly okay with that now, but it had definitely required an adjustment.

Two, however, was a forbidden number. Tents started at three people and moved up from there. They needed more than just the two of them. But that was fine. There were other people here they both liked. The first year Aladren boys were a good set. He played Quidditch with Quillan, and chess with both of them. Anyone who liked chess was worth sharing a tent with.

He arrived on the Pitch with his overnight bag. He had considered waiting for Ida so the two Crotali of their year could walk into the bonfire together, but he was anxious about securing his overnight arrangements, and sent her a mental apology and just headed out by himself. He'd try to meet up with her at some point tonight, but first he needed to make sure his plan got put into motion before somebody else decided Quillan and Desmond were good potential tentmates. He really should have talked about this with them earlier, but it had never seemed like quite the right time.

So he entered into the gathering crowd with a mission. He wasn't sure if they'd all walked in together as a roommate group - Alexander couldn't help a frisson of envy that they got to share a room with each other all the time while he was alone in his, though that had its own advantages, too - or if he just got lucky while they were passing near to each other, but he approached the three first year Aladrens. "Hello! Did the four of us want to stake out a tent somewhere before all the good ones go?" He was pretty sure the tents were all fairly equal to one another in quality - in as much as a tent could be considered of good quality - but they did have a variety of outside appearances, and he thought that if he phrased it like a done deal, they wouldn't question him being a part of their group.

1 Alexander Pierce The first year Aladrens and me? 1566 0 5

Nausicaa Scapetello

May 08, 2023 9:46 PM

We are doing what now? by Nausicaa Scapetello

What was wrong with these people? Nausicaa had wondered that to herself countless times since she had arrived at this place that claimed to be a school. Most of the times she could manage to come close to rationalizing things, but this...? No, she just couldn't. Up until now, it had been an abstract thing, like a terrible painting that didn't make any sense, but people kept looking at and commenting on how great it was. People that didn't know anything. Now she stood on the pitch with her arms crossed looking over the madness before her. Thankfully the terrible school uniforms were not required. She could dress properly, well as much as possible for such an occasion.

There were tents everywhere, there were fires around the place. Fires and canvas, what could go wrong? Nausicaa rolled her eyes skyward, shook her head and approached. They honestly expected her to sleep in a tent on the ground? Was she supposed to cook her own food over a fire as well like a neanderthal? The Deputy-Headmistress talked, and apparently yes. Yes she was supposed to sleep in a tent and cook her own food. This was downright outrageous. Fire was power, that she understood. Making wishes for her classmates? Why... no, wait. She could do that.

Nausicaa obtained a paper and quill and quickly wrote a note in her flowing handwriting. 'I wish for all of my classmates to come to their senses and be reasonable people.' She folded it and tossed it into the fire. It wouldn't do any good, but she could always hope. Now, off to more important matters. When she had first heard about this nonsense she had checked in with the staff and confirmed that she could reserve a tent for just herself. What would be worse than sleeping on the dirt? Sleeping on the dirt with two other people in the same area. No thank-you.

Once the terrible sleeping arrangements had been taken care of, she was forced to investigate the dining selection. It did not look promising. Cooking her own food was completely out of the question, that was simply not something someone of her position did. There were a few options that didn't require cooking, but they were mostly side dishes, and eating only those would not be particularly satisfying. She wondered if she could convince someone else to cook her something? She really hated to go with the 'poor me, I've never done this before, can you help me' routine. It made her look foolish and incompetent. What she needed was minions that would do whatever she said without questioning it, and she hadn't found any of those yet. She glanced around her to see what options she did have in unwitting lackeys.

2 Nausicaa Scapetello We are doing what now? 1561 0 5

Lenny Pierce

May 08, 2023 10:05 PM

This might be a little awkward (tag Chris) by Lenny Pierce

Lenny wasn't exactly nervous about the camp-out. Bonfires were cool, and tents were as familiar to him as beds were to everyone else. He knew dozens of vegan campfire recipes. He'd brought his own vegan marshmallows since some weren't. He was excited to help Rosalynn lead the school in some hearty campfire songs (once they heard him sing, nobody should be self-conscious about their own voices joining in, and they'd probably want to drown him out, which should also encourage participation). That wasn't the problem.

The problem was after the food and the singing and the socializing, when they split into small groups in tents. He'd never had a problem with Cole. Cole was a great roommate. But Cole was his brother in every way that mattered. None of the other guys were exactly people Lenny felt entirely comfortable getting changed in front of, or climbing into a sleeping bag beside. He'd chosen a pair of pajamas instead of a nightgown, but they were pink and sparkly and from the girls department like most of the clothes he owned.

It still wasn't blatantly obvious that he wasn't developing like the other boys were, yet; puberty had a pretty wide range where it could kick in, and he wasn't outside of it quite yet, but he was definitely reaching a point where he clearly seemed to be on the late end of that spectrum, especially if one happened to know he was closer to fifteen than thirteen, with his birthday in September, making him one of the oldest in the class.

He wasn't a girl. But he wasn't wholly a boy, either, and he knew he looked like a girl. Even if one didn't account for his clothing, his face was relatively delicate, his limbs willowy. He'd be attractive to a boy, he liked to think. Pretty to look at, at least, even if they were straight. Certainly, that was what he was going for. He liked being pretty.

But normally, he wouldn't have to change out of his pretty clothes into his pretty pajamas in front of the kind of people who might be thinking that. And he honestly wasn't sure if he was more nervous that the other guy or guys in their tent might be thinking about how pretty Lenny was as they undressed . . . or that they wouldn't be.

He was a little bit afraid that he'd be mortally offended if he changed in front of another guy and they just acted like Lenny was any other guy, and not like they were somehow exploiting the rules and getting to tent with a pretty girl.

Either way, it was going to be awkward, sharing with somebody other than Cole.

Cole had expressed an interest in sharing with Christopher Brockert. Lenny didn't object to him any more than anybody else, and he trusted Cole's judgement of people, and if he thought Chris might be a good addition to their group, Lenny would take it under advisement. But Lenny had said he wanted to vet the guy first, and Cole had agreed to that.

So as some people were cooking and some people were sending pieces of paper into the fire - Lenny wanted to do that, too, but not yet - and other people were just milling about and socializing, Lenny found and approached the slightly older Crotalus.

"Hi," Lenny started with an easy greeting and smile - that wasn't exactly flirty, but wasn't exactly not if Chris wanted to interpret it that way - "You're Chris, Cole's friend, right?" he checked even though he already knew he had the right guy. The school was not that big. "He wondered if you wanted to tent with us? Thought I should be the one to ask, though, so you knew what you were getting in to, and to make sure you don't have a problem with, um, me?" He picked up the edge of the glittery purple skirt he was wearing and flared it out to demonstrate what some guys might have a problem with (and coincidentally flashing a little bit of leg). Brockerts weren't entirely known for their progressive politics, after all.

1 Lenny Pierce This might be a little awkward (tag Chris) 1547 0 5

Patience Reed-Fischer

May 09, 2023 1:53 AM

I wish my sister had been a better sister. by Patience Reed-Fischer

OOC: CW internalized homophobia BIC:

Jezebel was five years older than Patience, which meant the last time there had been a bonfire was Jezebel's last year at Sonora. It felt very strange for Patience to be standing in approximately the same place her sister once had, in the same crazy world, without her sister nearby. In fact, Jezebel was so decidedly not nearby that Patience hadn't even spoken with her for months; she'd missed the most recent family holidays becuase she'd been with Martin. What did Martin have that they didn't, except some fancy pureblood status that no amount of posturing would truly get Jezebel access to? And it wasn't like Jezebel really even liked him. Patience had known that since she was old enough to understand what it meant to like girls.

Not that Jezebel knew she wasn't the only one in the family who didn't uite line up where she was supposed to. Patience had been the brave one though; she didn't lie and she didn't hide and she didn't wear a cross around her neck and pretend she still said her Hail Mary!s on the beads anymore.

Gus probably didn't either but he worshipped at a dinner table all the same. He was a good big brother though, and that counted for something.

Patience had listened to Professor Skies with a bored affect, although it was a chosen one. All she wanted was to believe wishes made any difference in life, but it seemed that even a world of witchcraft and wizardry couldn't make that happen. Still, she was a romantic at heart and she took a paper to the fire to drop her wish into the stars: I wish someone else's life is better because I touched it. Technically it was about her, but she doubted Professor Skies had jinxed the fire to deny selfish wishes or something, and it was ultimately focused on the benefit of other people. Teppenpaws were diplomats after all, not necessarily altruists.

"Hey," she said to the younger diplomat beside her when she'd finished dropping off her wish and noticed a sad gleam in the girl's eyes. She recognized her immediately as Robyn Lundstrom, both because she knew who was in her house and because everyone knew who Xavier was. "Do you want something to drink?" Patience gestured at the fire. "The smoke's really getting to me and my older sister said having something to drink really helps when it gets going even harder." It was a lie, both because Jezebel had never said that and because it was a magical fire and Patience doubted it grew or dwindled at all, but it was polite. It was diplomatic. She shrugged. "I don't have anyone else to hang out with if you don't mind my company."

22 Patience Reed-Fischer I wish my sister had been a better sister. 1535 0 5

Samara Crosby

May 09, 2023 5:34 PM

Food! by Samara Crosby

Samara was really looking forward to the Bonfire tonight. It was going to be so neat to sleep out in a tent with her friends. Naturally, she had never been camping before as it was not something her family did . Their vacations tended to be a little bit more on the high end luxurious type befitting those of their social and financial status, things like summers-or at least part of them-in St. Berylla’s. Camping was not…something that it seemed like her parents and brother would enjoy.

To be honest though, sometimes Samara was not all that sure that they enjoyed much of anything. Her parents had initially bonded with each other over their hatred of almost everyone and almost everything, for Merlin’s sake! The second year actually, even though she felt bad about it, thought that finding things to hate might actually be her mother’s favorite hobby. Like, to the point where if Mother uttered the-presumably rhetorical-question, “Do you know what I hate?” that it was almost like a guessing game though Samara did not dare guess out loud as the last thing that she would ever ever ever want to do was bring Mother’s wrath upon herself.

There was literally nothing that terrified the second year more than that. She was always worried that even though her mother seemed to like her and her brother, that Samara would disappoint her and the Mother would turn against her. The Crotalus had literally grown up making sure to at least appear to agree with her opinions.

However, now Samara was at school, away from her family, and she truly didn’t hate everything. Or everyone. That most people were likable and that she didn’t truly hate anyone was still a bit odd to her. She really had expected the Pecaris to be loud,obnoxious, arrogant and self-centered the Crotali to be snobby and elitist in a pureblood way,the Aladrens to be… snobby and elitist in an intellectual way-and to be fair, some of the Beginner Aladrens kind of did come across like that-and the Teppenpaws to be boring sanctimonious goody-goodies, all things she had heard Mother utter at one point or another.

But that wasn’t the case. In most cases, some of the Aladrens aside, the people weren’t like Mother’s version of their house stereotypes. Maybe activities that her family didn’t do weren’t so bad either. Although Samara couldn’t remember camping specifically coming up since aside from ranting about boring parties full of snobby people, Mother tended to rant more about specific people, usually family members, than activities.

Tonight though, Samara was going to get to try some new things. She listened attentively as Professor Skies began the…opening ceremonies where she talked about fire and its power and setting positive intentions for other people. Which sounded like a nice thing to do though she could just picture Mother rolling her eyes and admittedly, she had been hoping for something that was a tiny bit more fun. Although she had heard rumors that there was supposed to be a sing along later so that could be.

And there was food including some items that Samara could try cooking over a fire. Plus, all the trimmings that could be put on hot dogs or sausages and baked potatoes. She did love a good baked potato full of cheese, butter, bacon, chili, and everything else. And there were even little cooking pots so they could cook other things over them!

Then she spotted Robyn over by the fire.. Samara had heard about her brother being sick and wanted to go over and say how sorry she was and be supportive. After all, if she understood anything, it was family issues although there was a huge difference between illness and the sort of drama her family had.

However, she saw that there was already an older girl over talking to the Teppenpaw, so she headed off to fill her plate. It would give her time to think of what sort of positive wishes she could make for others. Samara had a few ideas already but she was really hungry. She got her food and took it over to one of the fires, hoping her friends would join her soon. “Hey!” The second year greeted someone who had just joined her.

11 Samara Crosby Food! 1563 0 5

Quillan Arcadius

May 09, 2023 11:52 PM

Obviously by Quillan Arcadius

Quillan was excited for the bonfire—as he expected everyone else was. After all, what was there not to like? There was a big fire. He couldn’t quite identify why that was so appealing, but it was. Perhaps it was some primal level that he was supposed to have civilised past, but given that adults were sanctioning enjoying the pretty, dancing warmth, he couldn’t see the harm. There was food. Perhaps a little rustic, but one was allowed to bend the rules of fine dining just a fraction for things like picnics. And he would get to camp out with his friends, which would be just like sleeping in their dorm, but with Alexander joining them, and the stars above. It all sounded great.

And, presumably, had minimal to no required reading. He could fake looking through a book if they had down time where everyone was doing that, but he was unlikely to be caught out by how much he struggled with it. That was another reason why he liked the idea of the bonfire—it symbolised the end of his first year, which he had survived. Maybe even more than that. He wouldn’t say he was quite thriving as he had with his personal tutor, who could tailor everything to his way of doing things, but his work arounds were working well enough for now, and he had friends and Quidditch—things he wouldn’t have had if he’d been privately tutored at home.

He made his way to the pitch with his roommates, though wasn’t surprised that Alexander found them before they’d really had a chance to do much other than be welcomed to the event.

“I don’t know how much choice we get,” he said, when Alexander asked about scoping out the tents. “But we could register our group with Professor Skies and then ask if we’re allowed to scope them out a bit.” Getting everything settled and sorted sounded like a good first step, and he was keen to see where they were sleeping. “It’ll be good to see what they’re like at any rate.

"Do we want to do the fire thing?" he asked. Much as he didn't want to introduce writing into his evening, it was one sentence, and one he presumably wouldn't have to show to anyone. "I know it's not real, but my sister will be starting next year, and I'm sure she'll think I've done her terribly wrong if I don't at least try putting luck on her side where I can." He said it with a smile, sure that Ursula wouldn't really have a major strop over it, but he would feel like a bad brother if he didn't cast a wish for her. And hopefully it being to appease a baby sister covered any issues with it being 'immature' or not properly intellectual and Aladren-like.

OOC: OOC - you can assume that Professor Skies takes their registration and tells them that, yes, they are welcome to have a nose around the tents if they want to.

13 Quillan Arcadius Obviously 1570 0 5

Bonabelle Row

May 10, 2023 12:38 AM

We need to talk. [tag: Val] by Bonabelle Row

OOC: Contains spoilers for the linked post. Tenting plans confirmed with Lavender's and Valentine's authors.

Disdain for other characters. BIC:

It hadn't been long enough for Bonabelle to feel like she was keeping secrets from her girlfriend, but it was getting close. With the end of the school year, the end of school at all, and everything else going on, it was reasonable that she hadn't gone straight to Valentine after her conversation with Stanley. She'd taken the opportunity of time to swear him to secrecy, even from Wally, and then froze. What was she supposed to do? Normally Uncle Killian was her go-to, but she wasn't about to tell him about this particular issue. She'd thought about going to Ema, and she would have if she'd been confident that everything was perfect in paradise for them on the issue. As a result, she'd mostly ended up mulling it all over in silence, avoiding leaving her dorm as much as possible and trying to focus her energy into her studies and wholly avoid any sort of emotions. Valentine, well-used to the way Bonabelle got before exams, probably didn't think much of it at all.

She'd made up her mind to talk to Val at the bonfire because it was about the longest she could put off the conversation without it exploding out of her and she wanted to give the Teppenpaw the opportunity to opt out of sharing a tent with her if she wished. Plus, she knew she'd need to discuss it before they retired for the night, as Lavender Brockert definitely wasn't going to be interested in overhearing that particular conversation. The girl was preppy at best and snooty at worse, neither of which had any place in a conversation like this.

Then, Bonabelle had found out that it wouldn't just be herself, her girlfriend, and her girlfriend's prudeish best friend. It would be any other girls without a place to go. She already knew she couldn't avoid having a third person in the tent, and right now she preferred it anyway, but now it was too much. Now it went back on all the same old feelings she'd yelled up and down about to Stanley. And if the only thing that made her any different from anyone else in Valentine's life was that sometimes they made out, then that just wasn't going to work. Bonabelle kept her feelings close to her chest but that didn't mean she didn't have any. If anyone knew that, she would've expected Val to.

She did her best to get steadied and calm before approaching Val from elsewhere in the crowd of students. She didn't know where exactly Stanley was, but she avoided looking for him. In fact, she avoided looking around at all, just in case he was looking for her too.

"Hey," she said when she found Val. Normally she would've taken her hand; the distance she kept between them was palpable to her and she wondered if Val could feel it too. "Can we walk? We need to talk about some stuff."

When they had extricated themselves from the throngs of classmates, Bonabelle began to doubt herself. This was their last real night at Sonora ever. This was it. No going back, just looking back, from here on out. That felt poignant and salient in more ways than one and she held onto that as she decided with a certain determination to move forward. No going back, no looking back, just moving forward.

Except... how did you tell your polyamorous girlfriend that you might have cheated on her with her boyfriend's brother but you weren't totally sure because of the aforementioned girlfriend's boyfriend? How did you tell your girlfriend that you felt like a favorite jumper on a clothesline strung up with a dozen of them without sounding like you weren't cool with the aforementioned polyamorous thing?

"I have a lot of thoughts and they are all tied up with feelings and I need to get them all out at once, so please let me finish before you say anything," she began, looking hard at Val before scrunching her eyes shut for better access to her brain words. It felt like trying to get at a plate of neeps and tatties stuffed inside a crystal ball with a pair of chopsticks - nothing was in the right place, nothing made sense, and nothing was getting anywhere. She took a big inhale and let words come out when she exhaled.

"Stanley and I made out and I wasn't sure if that was alright with you but I really like him, and then I found out that you just invited anyone at all who wants in to join our tent and I feel like I'm just one of your many friends and if that's the case I just wish you'd tell me and I love you so much but maybe I think I kind of wonder if maybe we were better as friends."

Her eyes and her mouth opened together, a look of shock popping onto her face as she realized what she'd said. Then it all crumpled into despair. "Tell me I'm wrong," she begged in a whisper. "Can you really convince me we aren't just friends who kiss too?" Her voice broke every few words. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. "Can you honestly say we're not going to just be flatmates who share a room after this?" She was begging. She didn't want to be begging. Anger rose up in her throat again. "I don't want to lose you, but I don't even know what I'm hanging onto right now."

22 Bonabelle Row We need to talk. [tag: Val] 1488 0 5

Jasper Brockert

May 10, 2023 3:16 AM

Here at the end of all things (Phillipe) by Jasper Brockert

OOC: CW-a bit of emotional abuse and homophobia. You guessed it, it's a Eustace thing BIC:

Jasper could not believe that it was his last night at Sonora. The last seven years were…well mostly good. He had helped out with two charity booths his first year, supporting amazing organizations which were kind of personal to him. One of them was personal because it helped out people like his cousin Miles and made places more…allergy friendly.

Actually, now that that was on his mind and he was at the Bonfire, he couldn’t help but worry about how this particular event might not be good for his cousin. First of all, um, nature. Miles did not get on with it very well, all that…pollen. Then there was the fire, which of course, produced smoke, which Jasper did not think his cousin could handle. Worst of all, there was a potential cross-contamination issue with cooking things in the same fire that had been used to cook things he could not eat.

So, now the Teppenpaw was worried that this particular Midsummer Event was going to be inaccessible for his cousin and since Jasper’s decided passion in life was helping people with disabilities and making things better for them, in any way possible whether it was teaching or taking care with people with intellectual disabilities or making things more accessible for people like Miles, he was less than thrilled with the idea that his cousin couldn’t fully participate in this particular activity and felt sad and angry thinking about how isolated the boy might end up. He probably wouldn’t even be able to cook in the same fire as Uriah, who was his best friend and favorite cousin since Jasper was sure that Uriah would be all about the food. Even though he was usually sensitive and accommodating of Miles and his allergies.

Anyway, the other charity he’d been involved in his first year had been personal because it was an issue that affected Christopher, and that he was pretty sure would affect Honora even worse eventually if it wasn’t already.

And it was something that affected him . Through the charity that Jasper had worked with, he came to realize that he was both emotionally abused by Uncle Eustace and emotionally neglected by his mother who basically was seriously immature and emotionally stunted and became overwhelmed by having so many children in such a short time. It wasn’t even really an excuse though when she had one child with a condition that had gone unnoticed until their tutor figured it out and one child who was a psychopath that terrorized all the others.

Jasper would probably never really forgive either of his parents for this. Well, not necessarily for producing a child who was pure evil since they really could not have expected it and they had five other decent children, but for not…noticing the behavior and doing something about it. As well as not paying enough attention to notice Sapphire’s epilepsy.

Of course, his uncle had no excuse whatsoever for the abuse he’d heaped on Jasper and Chris and even though Uncle Ben and Uncle Elmer-and Aunt Madeleine-stuck up fo the sons, and they weren’t forced into the Quidditch activities, Uncle Eustace still bullied the younger boys. Even though Olaf didn’t care at all. In this case, Jasper had to admire the second year’s…not caring about what others think of him that much.

In fact, Olaf had actually pointed out to the rest of them that Uncle Eustace was someone whose opinion should not matter. In a weird way, the Aladren was showing he cared about them. Though he’d probably rather die than admit it.

Anyway, the other big event of Jasper’s school career had been the Challenges last year. The whole thing had been…particularly interesting. Like he’d spent the whole time having weird tension with Xavier but had sort of come to a place where he realized that the Pecari wasn’t a hyper aggressive toxic alpha male jock who looked down on Jasper for being unathletic. Oz on the other hand had triggered some of his Uncle Eustace-related issues. Someone acting aggressive towards him like that just…made him stiffen and shrink into himself. Like he wanted to act normal and not like he was freaking out, similar to how he was when he was faced with riding a broom. Flying lessons were actually his worst memory, now that he thought about it.

However, the Challenges had also been really cool because he’d bonded with Liesl, and oh yeah, they got second place which was pretty good. Jasper had also liked that his cousin had gotten a chance to shine even though they didn’t get first in the last event. He still thought they got robbed on that one.

So, mostly he guessed he considered his Sonora days a success,

The Bonfire began with Professor Skies talking about the fire and symbolism and setting positive wishes for his classmates. Jasper definitely thought it was a nice thing and had every intention of doing it for a lot of people. Although, part of it was hard, because a lot of people he wanted to set them for were not students anymore. Like, he wanted Sapphire to feel better about herself and realize she was not stupid and he wanted Emerald to have a healthy pregnancy-so far, so good-and a healthy baby. He wanted Allegra to feel safe and Miles to…actually be safe. From not just Topaz and Uncle Eustace but from possible anaphylaxis and also not to be excluded due to his disability. He wanted happiness and love and babies for Ruby who wanted a big family. He wanted nothing for Topaz except her to go far far away from them all but that wasn’t at all a positive wish. Well, technically it was for everyone else, but it was still wishing negative things about Topaz.

Still. Jasper could make wishes for Amethyst, Isla, Christopher, Liesl, and even Olaf and Desmond. And Phillipe.

And one more, for Xavier to get better. The Teppenpaw felt truly bad about him getting sick. Not that it was Jasper’s fault just that he had sympathy for someone in pain. He’d heard all sorts of rumors and had figured from some of the behavior he’d seen, that the Pecari’s issue seemed to be a mental health thing, and Jasper really hoped he got the help he needed. Also, it probably meant that last year the Teppenpaw wasn’t the one with the issue. Except that he actually did, thanks to his uncle.

For now though, he was going to hang out with his roommate who was absolutely his closest friend here at Sonora. They would be meeting up and sharing a tent later with the Aladren boys in their year, who, to be honest would not have been Jasper’s first choice since he’d always kind of felt like they looked down on him, and he kind of would have rather had Graham or the O’Malley twins. However, Bertie was in the Gaming Club with Phillipe and hadn’t been terrible to Chris during the Challenges so Jasper was going to give him a chance. He was still nervous though.

At least Bertie and Quincy were not aggressive alpha males, so there was that..

But still, he wanted to hang out with just Phillipe for a bit. Because he was going to miss him and he just wanted to…say goodbye and spend one last time with his closest friend here. Maybe Uncle Eustace would have a problem with him getting all sappy with his roommate, especially since said roommate was gay, but he was not here and the Teppenpaw did not care.

He turned to Phillipe. “Want to get something to eat?” Jasper asked. “I kind of need to think of what sort of positive intentions I want to send to people in the fire, and eating will give me time to do so. Also, I’m hungry.” The seventh year was, after all, a teenage boy with a big appetite.

11 Jasper Brockert Here at the end of all things (Phillipe) 1496 0 5

Desmond Brockert

May 10, 2023 9:38 AM

Of course! by Desmond Brockert

OOC: CW-some ambiguous victim blaming BIC:

Desmond was not entirely sure about this sleeping outside in a tent thing. His family did not camp. The idea of Mother with her designer clothes and manicured nails sleeping on the ground was quite ludicrous and Father preferred to do something a bit more intellectual. Something that used brains rather than-ugh-brawn.Desmond.had always associated camping with more…sporty types. Like one had to be physically tough to face the elements and survive in the wilderness. That was so not his thing at all. While he did not consider himself weak , he very much felt intellectual pursuits were more important, more worthwhile.

Besides, the Quidditch pitch was hardly the “wilderness”. True, it was not Desmond’s favorite place but nor was this something where they had to be out in the middle of the woods worrying about wild animals attacking, just the Pecaris (and Leo) playing stupid pranks. Which was actually something that he found far more appalling. Actual literal wild animals could not help themselves. Humans who acted like that had chosen to behave in such a manner.

To be honest, though, the idea of actually sleeping out in the woods kind of scared him. Like even though the more obnoxious poorly behaved students might irritate him and he felt that they needed to take responsibility for their behavior and make better choices, at least they would not eat him or give him rabies.

At least Desmond had friends to share his tent with. He was sure that he would be with his roommates and Alexander. As much as he sort of…worried that they would become closer to each other than to him because they all-for some unfathomable reason-all played Quidditch and he didn’t. At the same time though, he had to wonder if Alexander felt similar because the rest of them were Aladrens and he was a Crotalus. Although Nicholas was his twin brother so they would always have a stronger bond with each other than they would with him or Quillan.

It must have been nice though to have a sibling like that. One that you could have a true connection with. Part of him wished that he had someone like that, someone in his family that he could discuss intellectual topics with and that he could be proud of. Okay, he had his father, but someone closer to his age. Instead, Desmond got Liesl who was interested in all the wrong things-and he didn’t mean that in a way she just wasn’t an intellectual, he meant she was odd and embarrassing- and Olaf, who was super intelligent but seemed to want to be a hermit.

But maybe he could have that with his friends. He knew how lucky he was, some people got into year groups where they were the odd one out like Angelique, who still moaned about her Sonora years in a melodramatic manner even though she was super popular in pureblood circles and happily married. Still, Desmond knew it must have been rough to spend seven years stuck with people you had nothing in common with, even though he sort of thought his cousin should let it go. He would personally have not fared well with that group either.

Although, one who was on the outside looking in would think his classmates were the same as Angelique’s, a bunch of jocks, but honestly, they were people he really did feel like he had a lot in common with even if they did play Quidditch and he did genuinely like them. They were intellectuals like him, not people like Leo.

Desmond arrived on the Quidditch pitch with his two roommates where the three of them were quickly found by Alexander who suggested that they stake out a tent. Quillan then suggested they register with Professor Skies. “That sounds like an excellent idea” He was less certain about this whole thing than Quillan seemed to be, and seeing the tents might help him feel a little better.

Then Quillan brought up the Bonfire ritual and wishing for something good for his sister. Which was really nice of him although Professor Skies had said classmates and Quillan’s sister wasn’t even a student yet. And classmates indicated who you were in classes with, so making wishes for the other Beginners.

However, then Desmond spotted Liesl, dressed in what he thought might be one of the Challenge outfits that Uncle Cory had bought for her, a t-shirt with an eye on it and some leggings that had a pattern of bats. Which was her comfortable clothing look and still cringey from his perspective. Possibly more so than her usual gothic style since it was so…relaxed. Which admittedly made sense given the environment because certainly nobody would want to get their good clothes dirty . Even he was dressed somewhat casually just not to the level of his older sister.

If only Liesl would just be…normal. Her life would be easier. And so would his. He genuinely believed that would be the right thing and for her own good. Mother would stop being mad if the fourth year just behaved herself instead of constantly making things worse and bringing these problems on herself “I might do it for my sister too. My older one.” He had decided to admit to being Liesl’s brother earlier in the year because it felt wrong to lie about it and there were a lot of people who could easily blow his cover on that. Jasper would probably do it on purpose too since he’d become so protective of Liesl and would be pretty mad at Desmond if he pretended that.

He continued ““My younger sister won’t be here for a few more years. However, my cousin Alma will be here next year so she’ll be in the same year as your sister, Quillan.” Technically Alma was a second cousin once removed but they still actually knew each other, as opposed to say, Charlotte or Misty. Still, he thought Quillan might think Alma was a first cousin,because non-Brockert people immediately assumed that you meant a first cousin, whereas Brockerts said “first cousin” when talking about first cousins and just ‘cousin’ for the distant ones or they added “distant cousin”. So from Desmond’s point of view, Uncle Cory’s children and Uncle Judah’s children were first cousins, Alma was a cousin and Charlotte and Misty were distant cousins.

However, he was pretty sure that other people didn’t think that way. Desmond wondered if he should be specific about his relation to Alma. Not that it was a big deal really but it bothered him a good deal when something was inaccurate. It bothered him to his very core.

11 Desmond Brockert Of course! 1572 0 5

Christopher Brockert

May 11, 2023 5:54 AM

It might actually not be by Christopher Brockert

So another year at Sonora was over and now Christopher had to go home . As usual, he didn’t really want to. School was a safe place, home wasn’t really. While his parents and sister were nice and not going to hurt him and he probably wouldn’t have conflict with them, there was a chance that he would have to be around Uncle Eustace-and even if it was just a small chance it was still a bigger chance than at school and a much bigger one than Christopher found acceptable. Because the only chance of being around his uncle that he found to be so was no chance at all.

Honestly, the idea of having to be around him made the Crotalus feel literally sick to his stomach with anxiety. All he wanted to do was enjoy the Bonfire, as this was the only chance that he’d ever get to attend this event and while camping and being outdoors and “roughing it” was something that Chris associated with rugged masculinity, he still had to sleep out here and wanted to have fun anyway, especially as this wasn’t an event involving getting up in front of others like the Concert last year-though performing in it was usually optional and he hadn’t even had to since his group hadn’t finished in the top three in Challenge Two, it still wasn’t the most fun event for him-or having people couple up and potentially having nobody to talk to when he didn’t do so at the ball next year.

Even though last time they’d had it was his first year and back then people his age hadn’t done that, next year Christopher would be a fifth year, and they probably would.Which most definitely would be boring. Especially since he really didn’t think balls sounded like much fun to begin with. All of that…socializing with people he didn’t know and wasn’t sure would be safe conflict-free people for him to talk to. That did not sound enjoyable and also, Isla and Liesl made them sound like dreadful experiences. A Sonora ball was not exactly the same because it was with people he saw all the time but still, if it was like last time where in all the older years everyone was paired up with each other except his own relatives, that would suck.

The Fair had been fun though, and depending on what it was next time,Christopher certainly did not mind having that event again. Although if it was student led, he was not doing his own booth or participating in it that way-he wasn’t much of a joiner, for obvious reasons though he did occasionally go to Visual Arts club-unless it was something like the charity Fair from the time before last and someone he ~~felt obligated~~ wanted to help out, like one of his cousins was doing a booth. Chris obviously hoped that wouldn’t be the case.

Still, this would be his only Bonfire and he wanted to enjoy the experience but all he could do was worry about going home and having to potentially-and most likely- be around his uncle again.

Professor Skies began to speak, first talking about the fire and its symbolism and the ritual of writing something down as a positive wish for one of his classmates. That sounded really nice-although he was sure Olaf was somewhere on the pitch rolling his eyes-and he hoped to do that for people but right now he was too busy worrying about his summer break to think of anything nice he wanted for others, because there was something he was desperate for himself.

Unless Chris found someone who could make that wish for him. Maybe he could wish for it for Jasper and Jasper could wish for it for him. He probably wouldn’t even have to ask-because he was pretty sure that violated the spirit of the ritual somehow, that it was selfish, even though he wanted something that was essentially self-preservation, he wasn’t asking for someone specific to fall madly in love with him or anything like that-because his cousin had gone through the same things and would just know .

Before Christopher could decide what he was going to do-he was too anxious to eat right now, though he knew hunger would catch up with him eventually especially if someone distracted him from what was on his mind-Lenny Pierce came up to him. “That’s me.” Chris confirmed, a little confused as to why the third year felt he needed to make sure of that as Sonora was a small school and he was just a year ahead of Lenny. Everyone should mostly know who everyone else was. Although Grandfather sometimes didn’t,but he wasn’t in class with them either. Unless Lenny was trying to confirm he was friends with Cole. Which made more sense

“Of course I want to stay with you and Cole.” Christopher replied. “I was hoping he would want to and assumed you two were a package deal.” It wasn’t as if he could share with Verdillia who was the only friend he had that he was probably closer to than the Teppenpaw . “And I assure you that I absolutely don’t have a problem sharing with you” He had come to realize that it was important to reassure people who were different that you accepted them regardless of what that difference was. Also, Lenny was pretty much the exact opposite of the sort of people that Christopher was afraid of.

11 Christopher Brockert It might actually not be 1539 0 5

Nicholas Pierce

May 12, 2023 7:52 PM

All my roommates in agreement, excellent! by Nicholas Pierce

Nicholas was excited about the Bonfire for two reasons.

I. One, of course, was that it was simply a new experience. The whole school, outside, at the same time, after hours, and something was going to be set on fire? He had a vague feeling this wasn’t as interesting as it seemed to him, but it still seemed pretty interesting to him, and that was all that mattered.

II. Leaving the dorms meant not being limited to association with their Housemates, and that meant more time with his brother. Obviously, this was a good thing. His only slight reservation was that it seemed likely his school roommates would join him and his home roommate, and it wasn’t guaranteed, after all, that this would go well. There was no reason for it to not go well, since they were all friends anyway, but he felt vaguely like he needed to micro-manage something right now and he didn’t know what that thing was, which was...a little uncomfortable, when he thought about it for a minute.

Thinking about the same unsolvable problem for too long, though, wasn’t really his style, so for the most part, he was just excited about the Bonfire. It was going to be novel, it was going to be fun, and then tomorrow, he got to go home. He knew he might well miss Quillan and Desmond at this point, just from sheer accustomed-ness, and that he wasn’t going to be anything like exempt from homework, but...he liked being at home. He liked his parents and his grandparents. He liked not worrying too much about Reputations and Family Honor and such things when he was just eating his dinner. He didn’t even necessarily mind going to the Main House, higher on the mountain, when they had to do that – he knew that the adults could all be...tense, sometimes, when they had to do that, but that didn’t often affect him directly and it was interesting, sometimes, seeing the museum-like demonstrations of the really old things that had belonged to Great-Great-Grandfather or Aunt Berta, or to talk to Berta or Hamlet. So today was good, and tomorrow was sure to be good, so what was there to not be excited about?

Alexander found them quickly, which got things off to a good start. Quillan and Desmond and Professor Skies all proved agreeable, which continued the trend of things going well. He listened with interest as Quillan and Desmond talked about their sisters, both older and younger, as the subject of the actual purpose of the Bonfire came up. This was always an interesting topic to him, since he was a twin and therefore in an at least slightly less-than-normal middle ground – he had a sibling, but had no idea (despite Alexander’s occasional insistence that a difference of six minutes was even worth noting in any context other than “a meteor hit Mt. Pierce and nobody’s left but us four, so now Dad’s head of the family and Alexander...well, he can’t have the heir’s house right now, because it and Wesley and the Other Alicia all just got flattened because of the meteor and also because Alexander is still eleven, but when he grows up and we rebuild it, then being six minutes older means he gets the heir’s house”) what it was like to be a younger sibling or an older sibling.

“I think it’s going to be a long time before anyone else from our family shows up here,” he commented after Desmond talked about his cousin being close in age to Ursula Arcadius. “And we don’t have any sisters, so….” He raised his eyebrows as he looked at his brother. “Is there anything you really, really want to happen next year?” he asked, leaving the determination of whether he was half-joking or fully joking to be determined in light of Alexander’s response.

16 Nicholas Pierce All my roommates in agreement, excellent! 1565 0 5

Alexander Pierce

May 12, 2023 11:51 PM

Oh good. by Alexander Pierce

His ploy seemed to have worked. Nobody questioned the assumption that all four of them would tent together at all. When Quillan reminded them they needed to register their tent group, Alexander started looking around for the headmistress, and started subtly moving them all in that direction as the conversation carried on.

He nodded in agreement with Nicholas that they had no other family likely to join them any time soon. The less said about the other Pierces currently in the school, the better, and the New Hampshire Pierces had gotten their generations a but stretched out and nobody was close in age to anybody anymore outside of sibling groups. Well, Isabelle and Winston’s new baby on the way weren’t too far apart, he supposed, but he and Nicholas were sort of stuck mid generation on their own.

“Someone realizing there was a mistake and I should be in Aladren probably would have happened already if it was going to.” He wasn’t sure how valid these ‘good intentions’ were for actual change, but he didn’t want to waste Nicholas’ on something that was impossible. “I suppose, I’d like to take over as first string Seeker now that Valentine is graduating.”

By then they had reached Professor Skies, and as he was the one in her House, he took the lead in registering their group with her. They were given permission to pick the tent they wanted, so as they started walking to the outer ring where the tents were, he resumed the conversational topic from before, “Is there an intention you’d like me to burn for you, Nicholas?” Realizing belatedly that this might make the others feel excluded, he added quickly, “And is there anything either of you would want us to wish for you?” With Nicholas walking right next to him, using a singular pronoun was all but impossible, and he doubted Nicholas would object to making wishes for his roommates anyway.

1 Alexander Pierce Oh good. 1566 0 5

Bertie Jackson

May 13, 2023 12:17 AM

Back where it all began (tag Quincy) by Bertie Jackson

Of the midsummer events, the bonfire was the second least objectionable, but it was a low bar when compared to dancing and theatre. The fair was often educational or at least a worthy endeavour, even if being strong armed by his sister into talking to strangers about their parents' work was not his favourite school memory.

The bonfire was easy, and the only real difference between sleeping out here and in his dorm was the need to share with more people. Which was a pretty big difference, given that Bertie didn't really do other people, but this situation had forced him to realise that he did actually have a reasonable number of other people who were tolerable. So much so that he actually had choices. Or... Well, he had one obvious group, but that had been fragmented, and as he also had a fragment in tow, that had turned into two separate options. He would have said 'gaming guys' but Philippe was a package deal with Jasper. Bertie didn't want to ditch Quincy either, though he would have fit in fine with the gaming boys. That left Bertie with the choice of asking if the two of them could join the younger boys, or being a pair of pairs with Philippe and Jasper.

Or going to Professor Skies and arguing that a) him and Quincy sharing as a pair was no different and therefore no more dangerous than their regular dorm arrangement, perhaps even more safe given her recent comments about staff ratios at the event and b) he was actually pretty sure that, statistically speaking, the more people you put in a tent, the more likely the odds were that you had two people who wanted to get inappropriate (though that was just taking into account mathematical factors not any social behaviours such as who chose to tent with who and the peer pressure of a third party).

Anyway, he had doubted she would listen, and concluded that an unknown Teppenpaw, vouched for by someone he trusted, was very unlikely to prank him in the night, so had taken Jasper as the lesser evil, as compared to losing an argument even when his reasoning was solid.

Besides, it wasn't as if he and Quincy didn't have myriad other ways of communicating, even in plain sight of others. Speaking of which, after he'd collected a plate, he went to find his roommate. They had enough well-established codes that he didn't even always need to give the key, which made it even more secure. Though he did give a hint as he dropped the note into Quincy's lap.

"This takes me back to the beginning,."

He gave Quincy a moment to peruse the note, which read:
'Happy times! Everyone loves to share and make new connections. Luckily, I have secured us the additional roommates necessary for this evening. Little odd to be spending our final night with other folks, but needs must. I remember our first night when we bonded over puzzles. Since then, we've had a smooth ride. Obviously we were well matched. There's hope for this evening too. Here's to existing friends and new connections. Even on the last night, never too late. Regrettable that we didn't all hang out more. Perhaps this will lead to new friendships that last beyond tonight. Everyone deserves a chance, right? Our tent mates will be welcoming, I'm sure, given their house. Probably going to be great. Let's have fun. Enjoy!

"Mostly joking," he added. "At least about the company for tonight. And present company definitely excepted," he said with a smile.

13 Bertie Jackson Back where it all began (tag Quincy) 1497 0 5

Piper Wilson

May 13, 2023 1:06 AM

This is so much fun! (Yarielis) by Piper Wilson

Piper was so excited for the Bonfire tonight! It was going to be so much fun! Lenny and his cousin Rosalynn were planning a sing along. Well, okay, even she had to admit that her friend’s singing wasn’t exactly a treat but in general it sounded like fun. And she was going to roast marshmallows and make s’more as well as getting to cook hot dogs and baked potatoes over a fire! This all sounded delightful and like a really good time.

Of course, she was going to share a tent with Levi who was her usual roommate but also, one of her best friends. Unfortunately, she couldn’t share with the other two, because they were boys. So, instead, Piper planned to ask Yarielis to join them. The Crotalus was Cole’s friend and also someone who seemed kind of….shy and awkward and she knew it was important to reach out to people like that and make them feel wanted and included. Some of her cousins were like that and Piper knew how much it meant to them to feel like someone wanted them around.

She also expected that she and Levi would hang out with the boys too and Yarielis was more than welcome to join them along with whomever was sharing with Cole and Lenny, probably Christopher. It sounded like an overall total blast!

Professor Skies welcomed them all to the Bonfire and began to talk about all that fire could represent and making positive wishes on behalf of a classmate. What a wonderful idea! There were so many people that Piper wanted to make wishes for. Off the top of her head, she could think of at least nine people she wanted to do this for, even if she did not know exactly what to wish for all of them. She knew that she wanted to wish for Lavender to find friends and love when she graduated and went off to college and she knew that she wanted Lenny to be accepted for the wonderful person that he was and how he dressed didn’t matter.

And she wanted Yarielis to become more confident with herself. And right now she just plain wanted to find Yarielis so she could ask the Crotalus about sharing a tent with her and Levi. Piper figured that she would do that first and then move on to the business of setting positive intentions for people that she cared about and just plain having fun.

Spotting the girl in question, Piper made her way over. “Hey, Yarielis. I was wondering if you would like to share a tent with Levi and me?” She asked.

11 Piper Wilson This is so much fun! (Yarielis) 1556 0 5

Yaniel Ayala Velez

May 13, 2023 4:58 AM

...the most by Yaniel Ayala Velez

The bonfire was yet another thing that revolved around friends. More specifically than that, a particular gender of friends. Of which Yarielis had precisely zero. It was yet another example of the world being out to get the Crotalus. If Yarielis could just share with Cole and Fortune, that would be fine. Even if it came with a side of Lenny, Yarielis would have taken it. Which was natural. Because those people were the Crotalus' only friends and it sucked to be left out and have nowhere to go.

Except, even though it was normal to want to be with your friends, why were boys the only people Yarielis felt comfortable with and had even semi-successful friendships with?

Yarielis did not, apparently, have a healthy or ‘normal’ relationship with either body or gender, according to the mental health professional school had involved. However, it was up to Yarielis to work out what that meant, or what it was ‘supposed’ to be like instead. There were options—conversation topics, literature, rating scales they could do, but Yarielis had to be the one to choose. Questions whose answers had seemed obvious now seemed like they could mean multiple different things…

Food seemed like a good way to avoid tent problems for now, and was something Yarielis would need in order to get through the evening. There was even sour cream to go on the baked potatoes, along with bacon bits and scallions. This, and marshmallows, would probably be the high points, especially as Yarielis could theoretically do that with the guys.

Before Yarielis could find them, however, Piper approached. And, given that she had addressed Yarielis by name, there was little doubt who she was talking to. Yarielis therefore swallowed down the 'who, me?'

"That would be great." For Yarielis, anyway, because there was no way of avoiding this, and it was better than being discarded, even if the Crotalus was sort of… scared of Piper and Levi. Not like, actually. ‘Scared’ was the wrong word. But the two of them were already friends, and were… normal. Yarielis wasn’t any of those things. There wasn't obviously much in it for Piper besides needing a third but she could have picked anyone. "Did Cole ask you to do this?"

13 Yaniel Ayala Velez ...the most 1554 0 5

Quillan Arcadius

May 13, 2023 5:16 AM

Who is done, now where? by Quillan Arcadius

“I’ll tell Ursula to look out for her,” he said with a polite smile when Desmond mentioned an incoming cousin. There wasn’t much point finding out more than that. Desmond would be unlikely to say anything terrible about his own cousin, and Ursula would be unlikely to listen to what Quillan thought she should think of anyone else.

It seemed he and Desmond were both going to make wishes for their sisters, and then Alexander extended it to wishes for all siblings, and very quickly it became a whole group thing that they were all involved in.

“To be absolutely undefeated in chess,” Quillan quipped, when asked if he wanted anything wished for by any of them. “But I’ll earn that the hard way.” In truth, he thought that infinite victories—or at least, guaranteed victories—would get very dull, very quickly. He was glad he’d found worthy opponents who made him think. If he could have any magic wish, he knew what it would be, but he was pretty sure these little scraps of paper had no ability to unscramble his brain, when hoards of tutors had failed, and when there was apparently no potion or spell that would do it. So, he wasn’t about to mention that to his friends.

“They’re pretty similar,” he said of the tents, after they’d poked their nose into a couple. “So, I guess the only real question is whether we think there’s an advantageous position on the field.”

13 Quillan Arcadius Who is done, now where? 1570 0 5

Olaf Brockert

May 13, 2023 6:31 AM

I wish everyone would go away by Olaf Brockert

The best thing, which was arguably the only good thing about the Bonfire, was that Olaf had been able to request a single tent. He didn’t have to share with anyone , and could just eat and then go sit alone in his tent and read. Which was perfect.

Although, for all that the Bonfire did not appeal to Olaf-very little did, aside from reading, museums and other educational activities-he had to admit that it was a bit better than the Concert, although his opinion was likely tainted by the fact that he’d been forced to perform in it when his group finished in the top three in the second Challenge. Still, he’d been to his sisters’ Concerts prior to his first year of school which he’d scowled through because all the lights went off and he couldn’t see well enough to read his book. At that point, Olaf had been unable to cast spells on his own and his parents had refused to cast lumosfor him. Instead he had to watch the boring concert that aside from Isla’s puppet show, his sisters didn't even participate in.

Of course, even the Concert was better than the Ball . Dear Merlin, was Olaf ever dreading that . All that atmosphere of…romance. Yech. And of course, there was always the possibility of someone being left out because all their friends had dates and they didn’t and there was nobody to talk to. Olaf,of course, didn’t mind if he personally had nobody talk to,since he obviously planned to bring a book and sit in a corner and read, but he knew it had bothered Isla last time and while the second year generally was not the sort of person who did feelings , he did sort of feel bad for his sister. Even though he obviously would never admit that out loud.

Just like he was feeling bad for Amethyst now. Especially since his cousin was completely in the right. The spell on their beds, while not affecting Olaf personally, was ridiculous and down right punitive. Except they were being preemptively punished before they even did anything. Especially since while there were plenty of gay people at Sonora, there weren’t actually any gay couples that also happened to be in the same house since Jasper’s roommate’s boyfriend graduated.

And the alternative suggestions that Professor Skies had presented in the letter were a billion times worse than the current situation. Having his door open at all times or having people randomly inspecting him? No, just no. Olaf probably wouldn’t be doing anything they’d have a problem with since all he did was study and read but much like with the current rule, it was the principle of the thing. Plus, in that case, he would actually feel pretty violated.

Even worse was the idea of reorganizing the dorms, presumably in a manner where there were at least three people in every room. That sounded especially heinous. Olaf currently had a room to himself and he had no desire to give that up. Never mind how impractical it was because they would have to refigure who was rooming where every year. That quite frankly sounded like a pain in the ass.

So, the bed spell sucked and Amethyst’s suggestion was the best solution. Except that Professor Skies said no, because she was apparently in favor of fascist policies that treated them all like babies. Because with the exception of some of the troublemakers, like Leo, they did not need that level of supervision. And those troublemakers didn’t need the supervision because they wanted to, um, be physically intimate, they needed it so they didn’t misbehave and play pranks.

Never mind that Amethyst’s petition had more signatures than the one Topaz’s roommate had put up at one point. Yet, they had gender neutral Head Student elections now but they still had these idiotic spells on their beds. How was that fair?

Professor Skies began to speak about the symbolism of fire and other New Age crap. Olaf couldn’t help but roll his eyes when the professor mentioned making a wish on behalf of a classmate. Really? How sanctimonious and saccharine could you get? The idea was actually slightly nauseating.

Now Olaf had to decide whether or not to try his hand at cooking over a fire. There was also pre-made food. Obviously, the pre-made food was easier, though maybe later he’d roast a marshmallow for those s’more things because the combination of marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers actually sort of sounded good.

For now though Olaf got in line for the pre-made food which he was sure would taste better than anything he managed to cook instead

Unfortunately, however,while he was standing in line waiting, the person in front of him greeted him “Hello,” The Aladren returned the greeting politely. Merlin, he could not wait to get to his single occupancy tent and read.

11 Olaf Brockert I wish everyone would go away 1564 0 5